Recent Acquisitions Architecture and Design

THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART 11 WEST 53 STREET, NEW YORK 19, N. Y. TELEPHONE: CIRCLE 5-8900

531217-89 Vo^oQ -v vrv«VQ &«-<>*,— PRESS PREVIEW t Tuesday, vs^VoJ^o- Cv*¥ * December 22, 1953 2 *bo 5 pc»ffi»

FOR RELEASE: Wednesday, December 23, 1953

MUSEUM TO EXHIBIT OBJECTS PROM DESIGN COLLECTION

For the first time in its history the Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53 Street,

will present an entire exhibition of beautiful and historically important objects

•which have been acquired for its unique Architecture and Design Collection*.

Examples of industrial, craft, graphic and architectural design will be included

in the exhibition which will be on view from Deoember 23 through February 22# A

dramatic baokround for the show has been designed by Philip Co Johnson, Director

of the Museum1 s Department of Architecture and Design, who has line£ one of the

two first floor galleries with panels of snowlike plastic to make a striking and

unusual baokround for the objects*

In the main entrance to the Museum Mr* Johnson has placed a stained glass

window, "Nuit de Noel", by Henri Matisse. In the main hallway are colored paper

maquettes of a chasuble, burse, stole and chalice which Matisse designed for the

Chapel at Venoe0 In the galleries will be hung a white silk chasuble decorated

with green and yellow satin applique, an example of exquisite needle-work, also

A walnut handmade beaker by an American designer, crystal brandy and wine

glasses from France, a porcelain coffee cup from Germany, a mother-of-pearl and

ebony stamp box Irom Vienna, a Finnish wood platter, a silver chess set by an

- -American artist, a lamp and chair from the Dutch Stijl movement, a Thonet bentwood

ohair manufactured in 1870, an Italian office typewriter, the famous leather and

metal "Barcelona" chair by Mies van der Rohe, an English jiewelry box, a model for

"The Endless House" by Frederick Kiesler, and letterheads and envelopes, posters

and book jackets by American and European graphio designers will all "be on view.

This exhibition of 37 objects, all of which have been acquired since June,,

1946, represents only a small fraction of the total Design Collection whioh in

cludes approximately 2500 items. Architectural models, drawings and three &.n?nrion»

al color slides, furniture from the Art Nouveau period of 1900 to recent chairs

by American designers suoh as Charles Eames, small objects such as Tiffany glass,

lamps, kitohen utensils, fabrics, pottery and glassware, examples of Machine Art5 and posters, signs, letterheads and ether combinations of -word and image from the 189018 to the present day make up thiB highly selective Collection, the only one of its kind in the world*

These objects, selected for their intrinsic beauty and importance in the history and development of modern design, are available to students, artists and designers for study and are loaned to other museums and institutions for special displays* A large group from the Collection is now touring Europe in an exhibi tion of American design organized "by the Museum for the United States Information

Agency*

The Design Collection has been formed in part from material exhibited in the

Museum* Lobmyer glass, Art Nouveau objects and Thonet chairs, for example, -were first shown in various exhibitions presented by the Department of Architecture and Design and then acquired for the Collection* Other objects have first been

shown in annual exhibitions of objects available in America* The Design Collection

is one unit of the Museum Collections, under the Direotion of Alfred H* Barr, Jr*# which includes films and photographs as well as painting and sculpture*

All the objects in the present exhibition were acquired since 1946, although

their date of design ranges from 1870 to 1953* In general this seleotion of

recently aoquired objects is planned to give an indication of the breadth of the

collection and to show some of the particularly beautiful and elegant things which

have been created by American and European designers in our time* THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART 11 WEST 53 STREET, NEW YORK 19, N. Y. TELEPHONE: CIRCLE 5-8900 (CHECKLIST

RECENT ACQUISITIONS 1946 P 1953

Apartment of Architecture and Iteslgn

Knife, Fork and Spoon m Sterling silver L© Caooia Dominion! & P©C. Castiglioni 1938 Italian* Manufactured by A^ueona, Italy- Anonymous gift

Table Lemp • GlaBS & metal Gerrit Rietveld, Dutch 1924 Gift of Gerrit Rietveld

Armohair Painted wood Gerrit Rietveld, Dutch 1917 Anonymous gift

Stamp Box • Mother-of-pearl & Josef Hoffman, Austrian cfcony Manufactured by Kunstlerwerkstatten 1946 Verein Vienna (Karl Krehan, craftsman), Austria Purchase

Platter • Laminated plywood Tapio Wirkkala, FinrdeBc 1951 Gift of Georg Jensen, Ine©

Mffitftated plywood J&£lo\Wirkkalft, Finnish. 1951 ^-^Gift oVfir^kDan^T

Chess Set » Man Ray, American acpjoxr Mrsa John D© Rockefeller, Jr© Purchase ISM Fund

Armohair «• Wood Thonet Brothers, Austrian 1870 Gift of Thonet Industries, Ine©

Vera-^fcfsko va}v C seoho s lo vag LUfaotured p^ Je&L^^WSmeyr, Austria Gift of A,J# ran Dugteren & Sons, Ine©

Bowl *i Crystal Vera Liskova, Chechoslovakian 1948 Manufactured by J.&L. Lobmeyr, Austria Gift of A.J« vaa Dugteren & Sons, Inoa

Jewel Box Sterling silver Charles Knox, English decorated v:ith Manufactured for Liberty & SceOffiilliani mether-of»pearl, Craythorne, craftsman) enamel & turquoise© Gift of the family of Mrs©. John D# 1900 Rockefeller, Jr<> >r

-2-

Coffee Cup m (modern adaptation Manufactured by A. Giraud & of traditional Brousseau, Limoges, France design) Gift of Mayhew Shop Porcelain

Cofc^ee Cup - Porcelain tvwte Petri-Rab^ rican, born li Germany Manufactured by Royal Berlin Porcelain Faotory, Germany Gift of Fraser's, Ino*

Vase • Opaque glass Paolo Venini, Italian 1949 Gift of Georg Jensen, Inc.

Ice Bucket - Sterling silver & Magnus Stephensen, Danish Raffia Manufactured by Georg Jensen ( G* 1951 Pedersen, fraftsman), Denmark* Anonymous gift

£wc: Tumbler^ - Crystal Elis Bergh, Swedish 1939 - 1941 Manufactured by Kosta Ltd*, Sweden Gift of Do Stanley Corcoran

Beaker - Walnut Reynold G* Dennis, American 1951 Gift of the manufacturer, Jcmurian CraffcBo

Ashtray & Cigarette Austrian jade Morris Zerner, American, born Cup - 1948 Austria. Gift of Georg Jensen^, Inc*

Two Stem Glasses - Crystal Josef Hoffmann, Austrian 1920 Manufactured by J«&L« Lobmeyr, Austria Gift of A#J, van Dugtoren & Sons, Inc(

Champagne Glass - Crystal Oswa^M^ce^dtl^ Austrian 192V—^ Mprr^fajiurios^J Jj&*& Lobmeyr, A:\a 'Srl&e Gife J.C A»J#«van;Dr.gteron & Sons, Inc>

Wine Glass - Crystal Manufactured by Compagnie des 1911 - 1935 Crisifcli.OftOi de ?a„canvbv France* Gifb ox1 Baoaarat & Por*:hault

Brandy G]a ss Crystal Mo Thiebault, French 1895 Manufacture6 by Compagnie des Cristfr.'.Ieri^s de Bar^oai c:z, France* Gift of Baccarat & Porthault

Offioe Typewriter - Metal MaroeHo Nizaoli,. Italian 1947 Manufactured by tho Olivetti Company., Italyc Gift of the Olivetti Corp* of America 2^

-s-

Henri Matisse, French (1869-) Churoh Vestments Silk with velvet & Manufactured at Les Ateliers des Arts silk decorations Appliques, Cannes, France* e# 1950 Purchase

Design for red & yellow Gouache on out-and- Henri Matisse, Frenoh (1869-) ohasuble* pasted paper Acquired through the Lillie P» Bliss o. 1950 Be que st

Design for "Nuit De Gouache on cut-and- Henri Matisse, French (1869-) Noel" pasted paper Gift of Time, Ino» 1952

"Nuit De Noel" Stained glass Henri Matisse, Frenoh (1869-) window Manufactured at the workshop of Paul 1952 and Adeline Bony, Paris, Franoe. Gift of Time, Inc*

ARCHITECTURE!

Endless House Terra oofcta Frederick Kieslerp American, born 19&1 Austria Purchase

GRAPHIC DESIGN*

Poster for Ford Motor 1938 A. M« Cassandre, French Company, Dearborn, Gift of A. M. Cassandre Michigan

Page from catalogue 1951 Herbert Matter, American, born for Knoll Associates Switzerland Gift of Herbert Matter Catalogue cover 1951 Leo Lionni, American, born Holland tt8 Automobiles*1 Gift of Leo Lionni

Pamphlet for Noonday 1953 Alvin LuBtig, American Press Gift of Alvin Lustig

Letterhead o. 1950 Bruno Munari, Italian Gift of Bruno Munari

Album Cover 1952 Rudolph de Harak, American "Ralph Sutton at the Gift of Rudolph de Harak Piano11

Magazine Cover 1953 Will Burtin, American, born Germany "Terapia" Gift of Will Burtin

Letterheads and 1929 - 1934 From the Jan Tsohiohold Collection Envelopes Anonymous gift